Beginning in October 2008, Brunswick County 4-H instituted “Reading Makes the Best Better” to celebrate National 4-H Week and to offer 4-H members the chance to do what 4-H’ers love to do best through community service, citizenship activities and education.

BOLIVIA—Mount Olive Baptist Church in Bolivia will continue to honor retired pastors in the area during its Sunday, Oct. 23, evening service at 7 p.m. This month the church will honor the Rev. Jason Ross.
As a young man Ross was called to preach the Gospel. After serving in the Army, He felt in his heart it was now or never to answer the call to preach.
He attended Wake Forest University for two years and then enrolled in the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY. While in school he was the pastor to two small churches.

Sharon United Methodist Church will have its annual bazaar Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28-29, on the church grounds on Holden Beach Road. There will be about 20 tents erected to house all the goodies, such as fried bananas, baked goods and canned goods.
This year is the 16th bazaar and could be the largest yet if Sharon gets the support from the community, members and friends. The church’s new worship center was built primarily with money raised from these annual bazaars and periodic dinners.

When I was asked to read Susan Dehn Matthews book, “No Longer Silent: The Empowerment of Women in the Gospels,” I had no idea I would be embarking on a journey with a visionary and prophet. The trip is wild and wonderful, for those who wish to expand their comprehension of Scriptural vignettes beyond a literal translation and beyond a “reasonable” one.

Army Pfc. Timothy X. Guzman, son of Jimmy Perez of Shallotte, has graduated from the Fire Support Specialist Advanced Individual Training course at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.
The field artillery specialists serve in intelligence activities, including target processing in field artillery, cannon battalions, division artillery, artillery and maneuver brigade and headquarters and fire support elements.

Allen and Jessica Todd of Shallotte are the parents of a daughter, Madilyn Dyan Todd, born at 10:54 p.m. Sept. 29 at Brunswick Novant Medical Center, weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces and measuring 20 inches in length.
Maternal grandparents are Thea Barefoot and the late Wayne Edwards.
Paternal grandparents are William and Wanda Todd.

John and Tamie Hales of Ash are the parents of a son, Luke Thomas Hales, born at 12:38 p.m. Oct. 8 at Betty H. Cameron Women & Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 21 inches in length.
He joins brothers Wyatt, 6, and Isaac, 3, and sister, Emily, 8.
Maternal grandparents are Bessie Lou Thompson of Whiteville and the late Bernard Thompson.
Paternal grandparents are Tom and Brenda Hales of Bladenboro.
Maternal great-grandparents are the late Corbett and Farrie Coleman and

Announcement is made of the forthcoming marriage of Elizabeth Stuecheli of Washington, D.C. and Jonathan Guthrie of Montgomery Village, Md. The bride-to-be is the daughter of James and Janet Stuecheli of Fairfax Station, Va. The prospective grooms grandparents are Elijah and Nancy Wilkerson of Ocean Isle Beach. A wedding date and location has not yet been determined.